


In Loco Parentis

by WhatsYourNameMan



Series: I Got Y'All Knuckleheads [5]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Aaron is boyfriend of the year tbh, Alex has ptsd, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Foster Care, Foster dad Herc, I felt like I should mention him, John is an artist, Laf isn't nb but he still wears dresses, M/M, let my pretty boy be pretty, mentions of child abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-02-02
Packaged: 2018-09-19 23:06:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9464534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatsYourNameMan/pseuds/WhatsYourNameMan
Summary: Hercules Mulligan's life is going pretty great. His business is doing well, his foster sons have finally found a home with him, and he has an amazing boyfriend who would do anything for his little family.Then Alexander Hamilton arrives with the force of a hurricane. He just can't seem to stop causing problems. This is one foster home he doesn't want to lose, but in order to keep it he has to figure out where he fits into the equation.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Acquainted](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9130891) by [Laenix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laenix/pseuds/Laenix). 



"All right knuckleheads, up and at 'em!" Herc shouted, banging on his foster sons' doors. "We've got three hours to get this pigsty looking livable."

Lafayette opened his door first with a groan. "What's the point?" He grumbled. "Shouldn't he know what he's getting into?" 

Herc rolled his eyes. "We don't want to scare him away on the first day."

Today their small family was receiving a new edition: a fourteen-year-old boy from the Caribbean whose town had been destroyed in a hurricane two years before. He had bounced through several foster homes since then, and Herc's caseworker had practically begged him to take the boy. Herc had immediately agreed. He would never turn away anyone who needed help. 

At the moment, though, their house looked horrible, and Herc wanted to make it seem more welcoming for their new arrival. 

"John, let's go," he called. "Get up and get dressed. No breakfast for anyone until this place looks presentable." 

Five minutes later, the boys shuffled downstairs to the kitchen, where Herc handed them each a mug of coffee. John, still looking half asleep with his hair down and his baggiest clothes on, accepted it gratefully. Lafayette seemed much more awake than he had a few minutes before, with his hair in a neat bun and wearing his favorite dress—one that Herc had made, of course. 

"When's Burr coming over?" John asked, taking a seat at the breakfast bar as he tied his hair up. 

" _Aaron_ is coming over at ten," Herc said. He still hadn't given up trying to get his foster sons to refer to his boyfriend by his first name. Neither of them had Aaron as a teacher anymore, so they were starting to drop the "Mr." in front of his name but still weren't comfortable with anything more than Burr. "And no sitting. Let's get to work."

For the next few hours they cleaned the house, stopping only when Aaron showed up with doughnuts for breakfast. 

Just as they were finishing up, the doorbell rang. Herc rushed over to the door and was greeted by his caseworker, Mr. Eacker, and a small, painfully thin Caribbean boy with long black hair tied back in a bun. The boy was staring at the ground and fidgeting with he handle of the suitcase in his hands. 

Herc grinned down at him. "Hey," he said. "I'm Hercules Mulligan, but you can call me Herc." 

The boy looked up at him. "Alexander Hamilton," he said, shaking Herc's hand. "You can call me Alex, I guess." 

Herc smiled and stepped back to let him inside. Mr. Eacker nodded at Herc, then left, not to anyone's surprise. He never stuck around long. 

"Alex," Herc began, "these are my other foster sons, John Laurens and Gilbert Lafayette, and my boyfriend Aaron Burr." 

Alex made note of the word "boyfriend" and tucked that away in his mind for later. 

"Bonjour, mon ami," Laf said, stepping forward. "Je m'appelle Lafayette." 

"Tu parles français?" Alex asked, his eyes lighting up. 

"Oui. Toi aussi?" 

Alex nodded. "C'est ma langue maternelle."

Laf grinned at Alex, then up at Hercules. "I think Alex and I are going to get along very well." 

"What'd he say?" John asked. 

Alex smiled at John. "I said French is my first language. English is my second, and Spanish is my third." 

"I speak Spanish too!" John exclaimed. "Well, I'm decent at it." 

"Great," Herc said to Aaron, "now they're all going to be conspiring against me in languages I can't understand." 

Alex's face fell. He had forgotten that the two men were in the room. He turned to Herc with an expression resembling fear on his face. 

"I-I'm sorry, Mr. Mulligan," Alex stuttered. "I-I won't speak French or Spanish if you don't want me to." 

"No, no," Herc said. "It's fine. I encourage it. And I'm sure Laf's glad to have someone to talk to. I have to admit John and I aren't the most cultured." 

"Hey!" John protested, but he had a goofy grin on his face as he did so. 

Ignoring him, Herc bent down and front of Alex and put his hand on the boy's shoulder. Alex pulled away, so Herc made a mental note to avoid touching. 

"Alex, I want you to be comfortable here. If it means speaking French, then by all means speak French."

Alex hesitated before answering. "Really?" 

"Of course," Herc said. "This is your house now. You deserve to feel comfortable in your own house." He stood up and looked around at the other kids. "Boys, why don't you show Alex his new room while I start lunch?" 

Laf and John stepped forward and grabbed Alex's bags. 

"Come, mon ami," Laf said. "Herc's rooms are so comfy. Very, how you say, spacious." 

Herc smiled at his boys as they climbed the stairs. He was so proud of them for being this welcoming of Alex. The three of them had had a pretty good dynamic, and he was worried that bringing another kid in would disrupt that. Clearly, his worries were in vain. 

Herc felt two arms wrap around his waist. 

"Looks like this one's going to be a challenge," Aaron said, resting his chin on Herc's shoulder. 

"I'm never one to back down from a challenge," Herc said. 

"I saw how he pulled away from your touch."

Herc turned around so he was facing Aaron and draped his arms around his neck. 

"You were like that at first," Herc reminded him. "But now I can do this," Herc gave him a quick kiss, "and you won't even complain." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alex got his own bedroom, which was a first. At his other foster homes he had had to share with too many other kids. At one home there had been five of them crowded into a room that shouldn't have fit more than two. 

"So," Laf said, after they had shown Alex around the upstairs, "do you have any questions for us?" Laf was by far the most experienced at this, as he had been Herc's first foster child. John hadn't been around for the arrival of a new kid before, since he himself had been the last new arrival. 

"That man downstairs... Is he really Mr. Mulligan's boyfriend?" Alex asked. If that was really the case, it might make Alex's new life a whole lot easier. 

"Burr?" John asked. "Yeah. He's also a teacher at our school. You'll probably have him this year. He's pretty cool, once you get past his stuck-up front." 

"Anything else?" Laf asked. 

"Do you... Do you like it here?" 

Laf nodded enthusiastically. "Very much. Herc is my second foster father and he will be my last. He is very nice, and he truly cares about us. He lets us be ourselves." 

Alex noticed how Laf plucked at the hem of his dress as he said the last part. 

"This is my fifth foster home," John chimed in. "I love it here. The other places didn't want me, 'cuz I was too loud, or too gay, or too different, but Herc welcomed me for who I am. He didn't even get upset when he found out I had painted a mural on the back wall of my closet. He actually let me paint the rest of my walls." 

Alex couldn't believe his ears. This place sounded like everything he wanted. A place where he could be himself, speak his own language, and like who he wanted to like. 

He decided maybe he could like it here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:
> 
> Tu parles français? -You speak French?
> 
> Oui. Toi aussi? -Yes. You do too?
> 
> C'est ma langue maternelle. -It's my first language.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to mention this in the last chapter, but I think the reason I love seeing Herc as a foster dad is because it reminds me of one of my best friends. We call him Hercules Mulligan (we all have our own Hamilton character, I'm Alex) and he's the closest thing I've ever had to a big brother. He's always really supportive of me and I've been thinking of him as I write this.

"Alex, kiddo, you gotta eat." 

Herc sighed as Alex pushed his plate away. 

"I'm not hungry," Alex insisted. 

"The way your ribcage shows through your shirt begs to differ."

"I already ate half," Alex said. "That's more than I usually eat." 

Alex had been living there for just over a week, and Herc was glad to see he was becoming more vocal. However, when it came to important things like eating, he wished the boy would just listen. 

"Laf? John? Can you give us a minute?" 

The two boys left the kitchen without a second thought. This had been happening quite a bit as Herc tried to help Alex adjust to the new home. 

"So what's bothering you?" Herc asked, taking Laf's place next to Alex. 

Alex shrugged, but his eyes darted to the window. Herc followed his gaze and saw dark storm clouds forming on the horizon. 

"Oh," Herc said softly. "Is it the storm?" 

Alex swallowed hard and nodded, his hands balling into fists. 

"I don't like storms," Alex whispered. 

Herc remembered reading about the hurricane on Nevis, and looking through Alex's mental health records and seeing mentions of the fear of storms. 

"It'll be okay, kiddo," Herc said. He wanted to pat Alex's back to add extra reassurance, but he restrained himself. "We don't live anywhere near the ocean."

"But the thunder. It reminds me..."

Herc nodded, understanding where the sentence was going. 

"Okay. Here's what we'll do. We'll go get Laf and John, and we'll call Aaron over. We'll build a pillow fort, we'll rent a movie, and we'll turn it up so loud you can't hear the thunder. We'll stay safe. Does that sound okay?" 

Alex nodded. "Thank you." 

"No problem. Now, what movie do you want to watch? I'll have Aaron stop by a Redbox on his way over." 

Alex thought for a moment. A lot of his favorite movies has loud sounds, like Star Wars, or they centered around the ocean, like Moana. Neither would be good for him in this situation.

"I like Mary Poppins," he eventually decided. 

"Perfect," Herc grinned. 

Twenty minutes later, Aaron arrived to find a perfectly constructed pillow and blanket fort in the living room. The storm hadn't started yet, but all three boys were already making themselves comfortable inside the fort while Herc made several bowls of popcorn. 

Aaron walked into the kitchen and greeted Herc with a kiss on the cheek. "So what's all this about?" he asked. 

"Alex doesn't like storms," Herc explained, handing Aaron two bowls of popcorn. "We're going to help distract him."

The two men headed into the fort, where Laf and Alex were chatting to each other in French, and John was occasionally interjecting in Spanish, not wanting to feel left out. 

Aaron tossed the DVD to Laf, who caught it without looking and put the disc in the player. 

Alex pulled his blanket tighter around him, and settled into his position. Herc noticed that he was allowing his shoulder to just barely touch John's. 

The movie worked for quite a while. Alex seemed to completely forget about the storm. He even ate all of his popcorn. But about a third of the way through the movie, at a particularly quiet point, an extremely loud, booming clap of thunder sounded, breaking through the safety of their fort. 

Alex yelped and curled in on himself. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to control his breathing, but he was struggling. His breath came faster and faster, and eventually he was hyperventilating. He knew the movie was still playing but all he could hear was the sound of thunder and rain, of waves crashing down on the shore with destructive force, of his neighbors' screams as their lives were claimed by the ocean. 

Something touched his arm. It might have been John, but all he could feel was the debris hitting him, slashing through his skin. He pulled away violently. He wanted to scream but there was no air in his lungs to scream with. So instead he just laid there in a ball, chest heaving and tears streaming down his face, wishing for death. 

A deep voice broke through his thoughts. 

"Alex? Alexander?" 

Herc. It was Herc's voice. 

"Alex can you hear me?" 

Alex nodded ever so slightly. 

"Is it okay if I touch you?" 

Alex shook his head violently. 

"Okay..." So Herc had to figure out a way to comfort him without physical contact. "Alex can you look at me?" 

Alex forced one eye open. The man was sitting in front of him, a worried look on his face. 

_Great_ , Alex thought. _Now you've scared him away._

"Alex I need you to breathe with me, okay?" 

Alex nodded and tried to mimic Herc's slow, deep breaths. It was hard at first, but after a few minutes he fell into the rhythm. He calmed down enough to sit up, his chest aching. 

"I-I'm sorry," he whispered. "Please don't send me away." 

"Why would I send you away?" Herc asked. "I think we just need to talk about how we can help you when things like this happen." 

Alex looked up at him with new tears forming in his eyes. "Really?" 

"Of course," Herc said. "Now, I know you don't like us to touch you, so what other ways can we help you?"

Alex bit his lip as he thought. He didn't really know what would help. At all his previous foster homes no one had cared enough to help. He'd been left alone to ride out the storm by himself, until all his friends and neighbors were dead and he was left alone in the wreckage. 

"I guess what you did worked fine," he said finally. 

"Okay. Boys, you saw what I did right? I expect you both to help Alex out whenever he needs it." 

"Of course," Laf said. 

"Why wouldn't we?" John agreed. 

Alex gave them a small smile. "Thank you." 

Herc thought for a moment, then said, "Alex, can you come with me for a moment?"

Alex followed Herc out of the fort, fear clawing at him. What if all of that inside the fort had just been a front for the other boys? What if Herc just didn't want to look like a jerk and was waiting until they were in private to tell Alex he had to leave? What if...oh, God, what if he was like the last foster father? Alex was already weak from the panic attack. He couldn't take a beating.

"Do you want to see a therapist?" Herc asked once they were in the kitchen, catching Alex off guard. 

"What?" Alex blinked. 

"Do you want to see a therapist to help you? I know a really good one; John went to her when he first came here. I feel like a professional might be able to help you better than I can."

Alex turned the offer over in his head for a while, weighing the pros and cons, before settling on a decision. 

"Yeah...okay. I guess I can try that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It'll be a couple more chapters before Alex makes the Big Mistake, but we're getting there.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little note~  
> Laf is 16 and a junior  
> John is 15 and a sophomore  
> Alex is 14 and a freshman   
> Thomas is in Laf's grade but is retaking Freshman history for a better grade.

"Breakfast!" Herc shouted. "Big day today, gotta get up early." 

He was greeted with three groans from upstairs. It was Alex's first day of school and Herc wanted to make sure they got there early. 

"Come on, Aaron'll be here in forty-five minutes!" 

Lafayette, as always, was the first one downstairs. "Why can I not drive? It would make both ours and Burr's lives much easier." 

"Because, Aaron enjoys driving you to school. Plus, he's going to give Alex a tour before school starts." 

"Again, I could do that just as well as he could." 

John came down the stairs next. 

"Morning," he mumbled, grabbing his coffee mug from the counter. 

Herc looked him up and down, quirking an eyebrow up. "John, bud, I don't make you all those jeans for you to not wear them." 

John looked down to find that he had indeed forgotten to put on pants. 

"Shit," he muttered. He turned back upstairs, passing Alex on the way. "Hey man," he said to the confused younger boy. 

Alex furrowed his brow and turned to Herc. "Is he okay?" 

"The answer to that is always no," Laf said, moving to stand next to Herc. "John is not a, how you say, morning person." 

"Apparently nobody in this house is except for me," Herc said. He handed Alex his coffee. "Did I get it right today?" 

Alex took a sip and smiled up at Herc. "It's perfect."

The three of them started their breakfast—homemade cinnamon rolls that were only slightly burnt—and were joined a few minutes later by John, who was now wearing pants. 

When Herc had finished, he pulled out his phone and opened up his calendar app. 

"Okay, so what do y'all have after school today?" 

"Art club," John said through a mouth full of cinnamon roll. 

"I thought art club was supposed to be tomorrow," Herc said. 

John swallowed. "I meant...um...."

"You were gonna spray paint the school again weren't you?" 

"Yeah I'll just come home," John said, sliding out of his chair, dumping his plate in the sink, and scurrying upstairs to get ready. 

Herc sighed. "Laf? What about you?" 

"Nothing," Laf replied. "Cooking club was cancelled. Monsieur Hemings caught the flu."

"Perfect," Herc said. "Can you bring your brothers over to the store then?" He turned to Alex. "We need to start getting you some clothes that actually fit. And a proper winter coat. It gets cold up here." 

Alex looked up from his plate, startled. "You don't—you don't have to make anything for me." 

"Actually, I do. Because as your foster father it's my responsibility to make sure you don't freeze your ass off. Besides, even if I didn't have to I would want to. Y'all are my favorite people to make things for." 

"Besides Burr," Laf said with a smirk on his face. "I am sure you enjoy the fitting part of it." 

Herc's face flushed as the two boys giggled. "Shut up," he muttered. 

There was a knock at the door. 

"Speak of the devil," Laf said. He went to open the door. And Herc moved towards the staircase. 

"John, let's go!" 

John came downstairs with two backpacks in his hand, one of which he tossed to Alex. 

"You got everything?" Herc asked him. 

"I think so," Alex said. 

"All right, I'll see you after school. Have fun, okay? Try and make some friends."

Alex nodded and went to greet Aaron. Herc turned to Laf and kissed the crown of his head. 

"Look out for him, okay?" 

"Of course," Laf said. "I will also make sure John does not try to spray paint anything." 

"Thank you," Herc sighed. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time Alex found Laf and John outside in the quad at lunch, he was extremely overwhelmed. 

"This school is huge," he said, plopping down next to John. "How do you not get lost?"

"You learn to find your way around," John said. "You'll get it eventually." 

"How was your morning?" Laf asked. 

"It was all right," Alex shrugged. "Mr. Burr is a lot less cool in class." 

"Yeah," John agreed, "we like him a lot better outside of school. But Herc's pretty hooked on him, so there's not much we can do about it." 

"I don't know if I'm going to survive that class." Alex dropped his head into his hands. "Burr seems to be targeting me specifically. And there's this guy in my class—he's an upperclassmen taking the class again—who's so annoying but also so, so hot. I just want to punch him in the mouth...with my mouth."

Alex froze. He hadn't meant to say that out loud. He had forgotten that he hadn't come out as bi to his foster family yet. 

"Please don't tell Mr. Mulligan I said that," he begged, looking up at his foster brothers with pleading eyes. "I don't want him to send me away."

"Why would he send you away for that?" John asked, confused. "If you couldn't tell, he's totally fine with that. He has a boyfriend. Hell, I've had a bunch of boyfriends since I moved here, and so has Laf."

"I would not say 'a bunch'," Laf corrected. "I am not a, how you say, player, like you are, John."

Alex looked down at the table. "It's just... At my other foster homes..."

He trailed off as he thought of his previous foster homes. At one, he had been caught making out with a guy at school by one of his foster brothers. He didn't even get to stay for dinner that night. And at the last one, all he'd said was that Ryan Reynolds looked good in the Deadpool suit before he got beaten so badly he passed out. 

John dropped a hand on Alex's shoulder, and the smaller boy, surprisingly, didn't pull away. 

"I get it man," he said. "I got sent away and hit for it too. But you don't have to worry about that here. Herc loves us for who we are. Of course we won't tell him if you're not ready for him to know, but you don't have to be afraid of him knowing." 

"Thank you," Alex said, relieved beyond words. 

"Ooooh, what do we have here?" A voice drawled from behind Alex. "A new addition to the gang of misfits?" 

Alex and John turned around to see a tall, muscular boy with a full head of curls very similar to Laf's. 

Alex thought, _Oh shit, he's even cuter up close._

John rolled his eyes. "Piss off, Jefferson."

"No, I want to meet the new Mulligan freak." The boy—Jefferson—forced himself in between John and Alex. John looked ready to punch him, but Alex just sized him up with a raised eyebrow. "Looks foreign. Does he even speak English?"

"Alexander Hamilton," he said, holding his hand out with a smug grin. "And I'm fluent in three languages, actually. But you should know that, as we have first period together."

Jefferson gave him a disgusted look, ignoring the offered handshake. 

"Alex, this is Thomas Jefferson," Laf said. 

"The biggest asshole in school," John added. 

Without looking away from Alex, Jefferson shoved his elbow into John's gut. 

"You better watch your mouth, Laurens," Jefferson snarled. "Or I might just tell Washington who painted that rainbow across Lee's door." 

Alex thought, _Okay, so his annoyingness outweighs his hotness._ It was time to let the true Alex shine through. 

"Leave him alone," Alex said. 

He stood up to gain a little height on Jefferson. That didn't last long, as Jefferson stood up too, and he towered over Alex. 

"Or what?" Jefferson asked, shoving Alex backwards. 

Alex grinned up at him. This was what he lived for. Without warning he launched himself at Jefferson, fist flying. 

He had the advantage of surprise and was able to land one blow, splitting Jefferson's lip. Once Jefferson was able to realize what happened, he turned on Alex, his eyes burning with hatred. 

Alex immediately recognized his mistake. Jefferson was much larger and much more powerful than Alex. When his blow landed, Alex was knocked off his feet. Thomas would have gone for more, but was interrupted by Burr's voice ringing out through the courtyard. 

"Jefferson! Hamilton! What do you think you're doing?"

Alex looked up at Burr, fear filling the one eye he wasn't clutching in pain. 

"M-M-Mr. Burr, s-sir," he stammered. "I-I—"

Burr cut him off. "Thomas Jefferson, I expected better from you. Principle's office, now." 

As Thomas sulked away, Burr turned to Alex, who was still a mess on the ground. 

"P-Please don't tell Mr. Mulligan. I-I swear it won't happen again. I-I'm sorry." 

Burr sighed and helped Alex stand up. 

"I'm going to have to tell him, Alex, but I promise nothing will happen to you." Burr lifted the boy's hand away from his eye. It was rapidly swelling. "Let's get you to the nurse." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

"Bonjour, Monsieur Hercules!" Laf bounded into Herc's small clothes shop with an excessive amount of energy. The store was only a short walk from the school, and it always helped clear Laf's head after school and put him in a good mood. 

"Hey knucklehead," Herc grinned from where he was taking inventory of his fabrics. "How was school?"

"Pleasant, as always." Laf took a seat on the stool behind the counter. "I kept John under control." 

Herc raised an eyebrow at Laf. "And what about Alex?"

Laf hesitated. "Ah," he began, but he was cut off by the ringing of the bell above the door. 

John came into the shop followed by Alex, who was cowering behind the older boy. 

Herc turned his quirked eyebrow to them. 

"John, is there a reason our little friend is hiding behind you?" 

Alex slowly emerged from behind John, keeping his eyes trained on the ground. That didn't stop Herc from noticing the black eye. 

"I'm sorry," Alex whispered. 

"Oh, kiddo." Herc made his way over to Alex and tilted his chin up so he could look more closely at his injury. "What happened?"

"It wasn't his fault," John said quickly. "Thomas Jefferson elbowed me in the gut and Alex stood up for me." 

"I punched him," Alex said quietly. "He punched back harder." 

Herc groaned. "That kid is no good. I'll be calling Mr. Washington again. If he lays another hand on any of my kids, I swear to god I'll get him expelled." 

"You're not mad at me?" Alex asked. 

"If it were any other kid, I would be." Herc looked at him and sighed. "Look, Alex, obviously punching people is not the answer to anything. But we went through this same thing with John, and I know there's no other way an interaction with Jefferson would have gone. If you hadn't done it, John would've. I know you were just standing up for John. We'll talk about punishment later if it happens again. For now, we need to get you a winter coat. C'mere." 

Alex followed him over to the counter, stunned. This was not the reaction he expected. Sure, Burr had said that Herc wouldn't throw him out, but he was sure he would at least get yelled at, or grounded, or something other than given new clothes. 

Herc started taking his measurements. Alex absentmindedly followed his instructions while replaying the conversation over and over in his mind. 

Herc seemed to genuinely trust him, a concept very foreign to Alex. There had been only understanding in his words. No anger, no disappointment. Maybe Alex could take the first step towards trusting Herc as much as Herc trusted him. Maybe...

"Hey, Mr. Mulligan?" Alex asked. 

"Herc," the man corrected him. 

"Herc, can I tell you something?" 

Herc put his measuring tape down and looked up at Alex. "Of course, kiddo. You can tell me anything." 

Alex bit his lip before continuing. "I'm bi."

Herc stared at him for a moment, tears swelling in his eyes, then stood up and crushed the boy in a bear hug. For once, Alex didn't try to pull away. 

"Thank you so much for telling me," Herc said, kissing the top of Alex's head. "I'm so proud of you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to end with a little fluff and bonding between Herc and Alex before Alex goes and screws up. Get ready for pain, children.


	4. Chapter 4

It was a slow day at the store, which was to be expected on a Thursday morning. Herc currently had one customer in the store, an old lady that came by quite frequently and quietly browsed the scarf section. Herc was working on Alex's new coat when his phone rang. 

"Mulligan's Fine Fashions, how may I help you?"

"Herc?" Aaron's voice sounded frantic. "It's Alex. His arm is broken and he's passed out. They're taking him to the hospital." 

Herc swore. "I'm heading over now. Bring the boys over after school." He hung up and turned to the old lady. "Sorry, Mrs. Franklin, the store's closed. My kid is in the hospital." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alex woke up to the sound of beeping. He could tell he was in a hospital, but he had no memory of when or where. For a moment he was in the hospital on Nevis, sent there after a neighbor had found him in his dead mother's arms, on the brink of death himself. Then he was in a Red Cross tent after a rescue team had found him in the rubble. Then he was in any number of hospitals in any of his previous towns, after being beaten by either another kid or a foster parent. It wasn't until he heard a deep, booming voice that he realized where he really was: in the hospital with a broken arm at his latest placement with Herc. 

Herc, who was going to freak out when he found out why Alex was here. Herc, who was going to send him away immediately. 

As Alex sat up all he could do was pray that no one had told Herc what had happened. Maybe he would get a chance to explain himself before Herc decided he wanted nothing to do with him. Alex could be content with "it was nice while it lasted" if he got a chance to at least make his side of the story heard. 

Herc noticed Alex was awake and was at his side immediately. 

"Oh my god, Alex. Are you all right? What happened?" 

Alex refused to meet his eyes. "I got in a fight."

"With Jefferson?" Herc asked. 

Alex shook his head. "With James Reynolds. He was harassing a freshman girl. He was saying all these horrible things and I just went for it." Alex was shocked that the words were coming out with such certainty. Well, he figured, if this was the last he would ever see of Herc he might as well let the man know who he really was. "I knocked him out before one of his friends took my legs out from under me. I fell on my arm and broke it. I passed out from the pain."

"Alex..." Herc sighed. 

"I'm not sorry," Alex said. "Reynolds deserved it. He's a horrible person. I know you probably think I am too, but I know I did the right thing. I know you're going to send me away now, but I don't care anymore. Yeah, you're the best home I've had since my mom died, but I've made it through a ton of shitty homes already. I can make it through more." 

"Alexander, I'm not going to send you away." 

Alex looked up at Herc with surprise in his eyes. "Why not?" 

Herc sat down on Alex's bed. "Alex, you're part of this family now, and everyone in this family has made mistakes. This is, admittedly, a big one, but we're in this together. There is going to be punishment, yes, and we need to talk about how you deal with your anger, but there is nothing you could possibly do to get us—any of us; me, Aaron, Laf, John—to stop loving you as if you've been in this family since day one. I just wish you would realize that."

Alex became aware of tears running down his face. "Thank you," he whispered. 

Herc wiped at his tears. "Of course. Get some rest, okay? We'll talk later." 

The next time Alex woke up, Laf and John were the ones sitting on his bed. 

"He is awake!" Laf exclaimed. "Bonjour, mon petit lion!" 

Alex gave Laf a tired smile. "Bonjour mon frère." He turned to John and translated, "Hola hermano." 

John held up a sharpie. "Is it cool if I decorate your cast?" 

Alex nodded. "Go for it." 

"Let me sign it first," Laf said, grabbing the sharpie out of John's hand. "When I broke my leg he doodled on it so much that no one had any room to sign it." 

Alex held out his left arm, which was encased in a heavy blue cast, to Laf, who signed his surname in loopy cursive letters. When he had finished and handed the sharpie back to John, Alex moved his arm into John's lap. The boy immediately set to work, fully concentrated on his task. 

"What happened to Reynolds?" Alex asked. 

"He is also in the hospital," Laf said, moving so he could play with Alex's hair. "His is just a few rooms down the hallway. His nose is broken and he lost a tooth, but nothing is seriously injured." 

Alex closed his eyes, leaning back into his pillow. "And what about the girl?" 

Laf grinned at him. "Miss Maria is now convinced you are some kind of superhero." 

Alex snorted. "Yeah, that's what I am." 

"'M gonna draw that," John muttered as best he could with the sharpie cap between his teeth.

"Where's Herc?" Alex asked. 

"He and Burr went to get dinner for all of us," Laf said. 

"It's pizza night," John said. 

"I feel like there's been five pizza nights in the two weeks I've been here," Alex said. 

"Most nights are pizza nights," Laf admitted. 

Alex laughed. "I can live with that." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alex hadn't slept since he got home from the hospital at ten. He was up pacing his room, with occasional breaks to see what he could or couldn't do with his cast hindering him. He had figured out that writing was fine, and typing was difficult but possible. Pulling his hair back was a big no, so he would either have to wear his hair down for the next six weeks or ask one of his foster brothers to do it for him. 

Around midnight Alex realized that he was parched. He hadn't thought to grab a water bottle before he went upstairs for the night, but pacing took a lot of energy. 

He quietly slipped out of his room and down the stairs, careful not to wake Laf or John. He was about to enter the kitchen but froze when he heard Herc's voice coming from inside. 

"Okay, thank you." There was the sound of a phone hanging up and Herc sighed. "That was the insurance company. Alex isn't on our plan yet. They're not going to give us anything for the cast. There's no way we can pay for his therapy _and_ the medical bills." Herc paused, as if he was thinking. "Maybe I could raise the prices at the shop. We can stop eating out as much."

"I could help out," Aaron's voice suggested. "I could take out part of my paycheck and—"

"You live on a teacher's salary, Aaron. I can't ask you to do that." Herc paused again. "I mean, I have some money put aside but I was saving that for—" he hesitated. "For an engagement ring." 

"Oh, Herc," Aaron whispered. 

Alex had heard enough. He crept back upstairs to his room. Herc had shown him nothing but kindness and all Alex had done was cause problems. He took up too much time, too much money—hell, he'd gotten in the way of Herc proposing to the love of his life. It was time he stopped being such a burden. 

He went to the back of his closet, where he kept his suitcase. He opened up the side pocket and pulled out an envelope. He leafed through it, counting the cash. It was the money he had earned from his writings on Nevis. It was meant to be used for college, but Alex could find another way to pay. He would get scholarships, work as many jobs as he needed. For now, all he needed was enough money to spend the night in the cheapest motel he could find and bus fare to get to Eacker's office in the morning. The rest he would leave for Herc and Aaron, to pay for all the expenses Alex had thrust upon them. 

After setting the envelope on his untouched bed, Alex threw his few possessions into his suitcase and zipped up his backpack. When he came to the cell phone on his nightstand, one of the first things Herc had given him, he hesitated. If he was going to do this properly, he would leave it there. But something inside him pressed him to pick it up and put it in his pocket. He could always ignore any messages he got, and it would help him contact Eacker in the morning. 

When finally the only trace of him left in the room was the envelope on the bed, Alex slipped quietly out of the house and into the night.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's short, I know, and I'm sorry, but I had to finish reading a play for AP.

"I mean, I have some money put aside but I was saving that for—" Herc hesitated. He glanced at Aaron, his face reddening. "For an engagement ring." 

"Oh, Herc," Aaron whispered. He pulled Herc into a deep kiss. Herc was too surprised to react for a moment, but when he came back to his senses he kissed back passionately. 

They eventually pulled apart, and Aaron took a minute to catch his breath before continuing. 

"I don't need a ring," he said, touching their foreheads together. "All I need is you. No ring could ever show how much I love you. You and your wonderful family." 

Herc wiped at the tears that had escaped his eyes. "Aaron Burr, will you marry me?" 

"Nothing would make me happier." 

They kissed for a long time, their minds temporarily taken off of the bills on the kitchen table. 

"Use the money to pay for Alex's cast," Aaron said when they broke the kiss. "We'll figure all this out." 

"God, I love you so much," Herc whispered. 

Aaron glanced at the clock. "It's getting late..."

"Stay the night?" 

Aaron grinned and let Herc lead him upstairs. 

"I'm just gonna check on the boys," Herc said.

He went into Laf's room first, kissing the sleeping boy on the forehead, then did the same with John. When he came to Alex's room, he hesitated. The door was open, which was unusual. Alex generally kept it closed. On top of that, it was far too quiet. Since his bedroom was right next to Herc's, Herc could always hear the boy pacing at all hours of the night. 

Herc stepped inside and flicked on the lights. The room was completely empty, the only things left of Alexander's in it an envelope on the bed and a scrap of paper next to it. Herc crossed to the bed and picked up the note. 

_Mr. Mulligan,_

_Thank you for your kindness and for welcoming me into your home. Had it not been so detrimental to yourself, I could have imagined myself staying here for a long time. However, I have done nothing but cause you problems and cost you money. Please use the money I earned from my writing to pay the medical bill. I don't know if it will pay for the whole thing, but it's all I have. Tell John and Laf that I'm sorry._

_Your obedient servant,_   
_A. Ham_

"Shit." He turned to Aaron with panic in his eyes. "Alex ran away." He felt his breath quickening and his throat tightening with fear. 

Aaron crossed the room and took Herc's hands in his own. "Hey, look at me. Breathe. It'll be okay. We'll find him. You go wake up the boys. I'll call the cops." 

Herc nodded, stumbling towards John's room. Aaron pulled out his cell phone and called the police.

"Hi, I'd like to report a missing child. My boyfriend's foster kid ran away." The dispatcher asked for a description. "His name is Alexander Hamilton, he's fourteen, five foot four, less than a hundred pounds. He's got long black hair, a blue cast on his left arm, and he looks like he hasn't slept in a month."

In the next room over, Herc was interrogating his other sons. 

"Do either of you have any idea where he might have gone?" 

The boys shook their heads. 

"I didn't even hear him leave," John said quietly. 

"Get your coats on," Herc sighed. "We're going to go look for him. Aaron's calling the cops right now." 

When Herc left the room John turned to Laf with worry in his eyes. He spoke frantically, his accent deepening like it often did when he was overwhelmed. 

"Is Alex gonna be okay? Oh my god, Laf, he's gonna freeze! Herc hasn't finished his coat yet. It's gotta be twenty degrees out. And he's only got one good arm! What if—"

Laf wrapped his arms around his younger brother and shushed him. 

"It will be okay, mon ami. We will find him. This town is not that big. And besides, our Alexander is a fighter. He will be okay." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Alex was freezing. He pulled his hoodie tighter around him, desperately trying to gain a little warmth. He had been turned away from two motels already. He pulled out his phone and looked at his Google search. There was only one motel left in town, and it was a twenty minute walk. 

As he started to look at the directions his phone started ringing again. Laf, John, Herc, and even Aaron had been calling and texting him non-stop for the past few hours. This time it was John. He hit the decline button and tried to ignore the guilty way his stomach twisted. 

Alex honestly hadn't thought any of them would be this concerned. He attempted to convince himself he didn't care. This was better for everyone. 

He started trudging towards the next hotel, forcing himself not to feel the cold biting at his fingers. He kept his head down, looking up only to check street signs and make sure he was still headed in the right direction. 

His trek was suddenly brought to a halt when he bumped into a large man. He stumbled backwards, looking up at the man. He was middle-aged with a menacing look on his face. 

"What's a kid like you doing out this late at night?" the man asked, stepping closer. 

Alex backed away cautiously, and for once no words came to mind. He knew he should run, but he didn't want to turn his back on the man.

He kept coming closer, and Alex kept backing away until a voice yelled out, "HEY!" 

The two froze and looked over to see a police officer approaching. The man took one last glance at Alex, then ran in the other direction. The police officer ignored him and rushed to Alex. 

"Are you all right kid?" 

Alex nodded, fear still blocking his mind. 

The officer studied him. "Wait... You're the kid they're looking for. Come on with me, I'll get you home." 

Alex wanted to protest, but he was too drained, so he let himself be led to the cop's car. 

_Of course you had to ruin this as well,_ Alex thought, as the officer drove toward the police station. _How are you going to face them all now?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, I'm @justsmilingmoreandtalkingless on tumblr if y'all want to come discuss


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it folks. The final chapter. I think I'm going to write a couple one shots though with just different points in this family's life because I love them. I want to look at when Laf and John first came to live with Herc and other things I can't say because spoilers. 
> 
> Anyways enjoy and thank you so much for reading :)

"Please, just call my caseworker. Anyone but Mr. Mulligan." 

Once Alex had regained his power of speech he was using to plead with the officers. 

"Why?" One of them asked. "Does he beat you?" 

"No, I—"

"Are you unhappy with him?" 

"No, but—" 

"Then we need to call him. He's your legal guardian." 

Alex groaned and put his head down on the desk he was sitting at. He didn't move until he heard someone call his name. 

"Alex?" 

He looked up to see John and Laf running towards him at full speed. He shrunk away, but was quickly enveloped in a tight hug between the two of them.

"Oh my god, Alex," John said as Laf started babbling in French. "Are you okay? We were so scared. Did anything happen to you? Are you hurt?" 

Herc wasn't far behind them, and Alex found himself encased in another layer of hugs and concerned questions. 

"Please," he squeaked. "I'm okay." 

His foster family released him, but he only had time to take a quick breath before Herc was hugging him again, pressing him into his chest as if trying to convince himself that the boy was really there. 

"Oh my god, kiddo," he breathed, and Alex felt tears drip onto his head. "I was so scared. I thought we were never gonna see you again." 

"That was the idea," Alex muttered. 

Herc pulled back to look at him with sad eyes. He knelt down in front of the boy and put his hands on his shoulders. 

"Alex, what do I have to do to convince you that we love you more than life itself?" Alex studied his lap as Herc continued. "You are as much a part of this family as anyone."

Alex shook his head. "All I do is cause problems. I don't deserve you guys. You don't deserve to have to deal with me."

Herc sighed. "All right, look. I didn't expect you to be easy, Alex. When Mr. Eacker called me about you he told me that you had a rough past, and that you were kicked out of foster homes for all sorts of reasons. He told me you liked to pick fights and start debates and that you always have to be right. I knew you were going to be a challenge. I knew there were going to be injuries. I knew there were going to be problems with anxiety. I knew all of it, Alex, and I still said yes. Yeah, you got problems, but no problem gets solved without help. And all of us want nothing more than for you to let us help you. We love you, Alex." 

Alex couldn't contain himself any longer. He burst into tears and flung his arms around Herc. The man was stunned as he tried to process the idea of Alex initiating contact. He eventually wrapped his arms around the small boy. 

"I'm sorry," Alex whispered. 

"Since the day you came to live with us," Herc said slowly, "not once have I regretted taking you in. You're my son, Alex, as much as John and Laf are."

"Thank you. I..." Alex took a shaky breath. "I love you too." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"And then I ran into this huge guy, like six foot seven, enormous muscles, a scar across his face—"

Herc watched from the doorway with amusement as Alex, standing on the coffee table, regaled his brothers with the story of his adventure. Laf and John were hanging onto every word, even though they had heard the story several times and each time the man got bigger and scarier. 

It had been a month and a half since the incident, and Alex had started to adjust more nicely. After realizing that he truly was accepted no matter what, he had begun to let his true personality shine through. Herc, Aaron, and the boys learned that Alex was quite talkative and had a gift for words. As Herc could see from the scene before him, Alex could make his stories come to life. And since he had been grounded for that month and a half, he had plenty of time to think of new ways to tell his story. 

A pair of arms wrapped themselves around Herc's waist. Aaron stood on his tiptoes so he could put his chin on Herc's shoulder. 

"So when are you going to tell them?" He asked. 

Herc smiled and took Aaron's hand. He led his fiancé into the room. 

"Sorry to interrupt this epic and heroic tale," Herc smirked. "But we have an announcement." 

Alex jumped down from the coffee table and sat between John and Laf on the couch. 

"You have the floor, sirs," Alex said. 

"Aaron and I are engaged." Herc beamed at the way the boys' faces lit up. "And," he continued before they could say anything, "once we're married, we want to adopt you three. Would you want that?" 

"Oui!" Laf immediately exclaimed, and John agreed enthusiastically. 

"Alex?" Herc asked, turning to him hopefully. 

Alex bit his lip, mulling it over. "Yeah," he eventually said. "I would like that." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alex fidgeted nervously as he sat between John and Laf. It was Herc and Aaron's wedding day, and they were about to start the toasts. Alex and John were dressed in nice suits, with ties that matched Laf's purple dress. They were all, of course, groomsmen, but Herc had asked each of them to make a speech at the reception. Laf had written a beautiful French poem. John had composed a rap. Both were amazing, and Alex felt his gut twist with anxiety that his would not be good enough, that it wouldn't convey just how much he loved his family. 

When it was his turn he shakily approached the podium. 

"Um, hi," he said. "I'm Alex, Herc's youngest son..." He trailed off, looking down at his paper. The words were swimming before his eyes. He would have to read from memory. He took a deep breath and started again. 

"Eleven months ago I came to live with Herc, and I was a mess. I had lost my family, my home, my country. I had been beat up and kicked out of more foster homes than I could count. I didn't think I'd ever find a home again. 

"But then, Herc, despite knowing how much trouble I would be, decided to take me in. It was rough at first, I'm not gonna lie. I wasn't ready to trust anyone. But Herc was willing to wait. 

"Herc gave me a home. He gave me love when I didn't think that it was possible for me to be loved. And now, thanks to him, this bastard kid without a father has two amazing dads." 

Alex looked up at Herc and Aaron with tears in his eyes. 

"Herc, Aaron, thank you for everything. Thank you for taking me into your home and making me a part of a family. I love you guys, and I'm proud to call myself your son."


End file.
